Money collected from the tax goes toward covering township expenses like fire, police, EMS and road crews. The LST varies from community to community, depending where you work and where you live.

Some places in Pennsylvania don’t have it all, but one thing is consistent across the state. If a worker earns less than $12,000 a year, they can get everything they paid back at the end of the year.

For instance in Hampden Township, Cumberland County, the LST is $52 a year or a dollar a week. It equals to a $52 refund for employees making less than $12,000 a year. The refund also applies to disabled veterans and active duty military.

In Cumberland County, refund forms can be found on their website, Cumberlandtax.org. It takes minutes to fill out a form.

If you know you will make less than $12,000 a year, you can also file an exemption with your employer.

Remember, it’s your money. If you don’t claim it, local governments will keep it in their wallet instead of yours.